Hi, first question about living aboard life

[charliehows]

dont really know why im chipping in on this - I had a simple rule "dont buy the boat 'til you're ready to go". I broke it a few times and i dont regret it but i wouldnt wish it on anyone else. I'm about your age, been sailing since i was about 8, and I've had to reconsider my potentialities - the sea is a tough place. Best i can wish you is you take to it like you were born to be on a boat.

[MisterMichaelB]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and not sure if I should be jumping in on this thread or starting a new one. I too am reaching retirement and looking for, particularly, a trawler. While I love traveling, my intention for the trawler is to remain dockside 90% of the time. I'm too much of a newbie as well. My only experience is with canoes and kayaks! My query lies in wondering how little mechanical maintenance costs I can avoid by remaining moored. On the flip side, because of my like of marine experience, I wonder what costs lie in just keeping my trawler in the water over several years. What will I have to do over that time? I'm sure once I buy the boat, get into the marina, and go from there, you meet people and you learn. I just thought I'd jump in here ahead of time and see if someone can help with the planning stages of live aboard life. thanks.

[MisterMichaelB]

...yikes...shoulda proof read. Should read. "...my lack of marine experience". Big difference!

[river251]

Hi there, I hope you get some good answers. If you don't, though, you might try visiting Trawler Forum, a website forum online where you're likely to find like-minded people with the knowledge you need. Easily found with Google. Good luck! Happy trails!

[interminabilis]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

26’ is too small, and I bet not much cheaper.
Right now however is not the time to buy a boat, for whatever reason they are selling strongly now, we went overnight from a buyers market to a sellers market.

Now that's interesting. I've seen used car sales have gone through the roof, was wondering about sailboats. Is that just anecdotal information or what are you looking at that shows the boost to a sellers market?

[NormanMartin]

Terrific thread.

Sellers market? Maybe if the boat is in really good condition. Boats are expensive to own and operate. Sailboats in marginal or poor condition are almost without value. I am always searching for a cruiser of about 35 feet that mama will accept. Too many require too much work, even for me. So, no, I do not think there is a sellers market for smaller cruising sailboats.

My 33 footer is a racer that is out of date and is essentially unsellable. I love it and would cruise it anywhere but I am about the only guy who would. My wife won't even talk about it! Some pics of the boat on my profile.

Norm on Cape Cod

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by NormanMartin

Terrific thread.

My 33 footer is a racer that is out of date and is essentially unsellable. I love it and would cruise it anywhere but I am about the only guy who would. My wife won't even talk about it! Some pics of the boat on my profile.

Norm on Cape Cod

Ahhhh, so many of us have had to choose between our boat and our wife!


Personally, I chose the boat. Never regretted it!

[NormanMartin]

After three, I'm just tired of the battle. After the first, I thought I'd get it right the second time. After the third, she swore she'd go cruising and then...

I met a woman who says she'd like to cruise but I know better now.

Oh well

[NormanMartin]

Addding to the above note:
Living aboard is an unusual way of life for most people I have met who were raised in houses. My mother was raised aboard for part of her early years. Her mother was raised by ship builders and mariners and thought life aboard was the best.

I have learned by observation and disappointment that the idea of travelling by boat is romantic but not sustainable. Not just for women but also for men.

Anyway, just so no one thinks I am off women or anything like that.

[Mawingo]

Hi there, similar situation to you but non desire to live aboard. I had never sailed before and purchased my first boat at 67 years of age. My boat is a Nonsuch 30 Ultra a great boat designed for hassle free solo sailing. Single unstayed mast, a Catboat. Very commodious, a thirty has the room of most thirty three for boats. Good luck

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mawingo.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by Mawingo

Hi there, similar situation to you but non desire to live aboard. I had never sailed before and purchased my first boat at 67 years of age. My boat is a Nonsuch 30 Ultra a great boat designed for hassle free solo sailing. Single unstayed mast, a Catboat. Very commodious, a thirty has the room of most thirty three for boats. Good luck

We loved our Nonsuch 30 and it was such fun to sail and with it's wide beam and forward mast there is a lot of room inside. We had a classic and lusted after the Ultra for it's layout.

However, the Nonsuch is horrible at anchor. Two reasons that I learned later-

1. Boats with their windage aft of center weathercock into the wind much better than boats with too much windage forward of center that "sail" all over the place at anchor. The forward mast creates havoc when the wind kicks up at anchor. A riding sail is a must.

2. Catboats, including the nonsuch, have very wide, flat hulls that are prone to lots of yawing at anchor. It doesn't take much to get a Nonsuch to uncomfortably rock back and forth sideways at anchor. Rocker stoppers or similar are a must.

So if you keep your boat in a marina and daysail, Nonsuch is fantastic. Anchoring? Not so much.

[SV_FlyingTigress]

Originally Posted by river251

Chrisr, thanks so much for the serious answer. You and barnakeil are giving me some good perspective. What do you think about a 28' cat? Is that a different story from the safeness of your 40' or no?

Sorry for starting an old debate again, it's just I wasn't around for the first ones... Ford vs Chevy, Fender vs Gibson, Nikon vs Canon...I guess they keep coming back because it's what people want to know....

Thank you much sir.

You probably will find that any catamarans you would want are waaaaay outside of your $30K budget. BTW I grew up in Silver City, NM, so know your area well. Don't know if the 'Butte is full of water now, but the sailing club would be worth a call:
https://www.rgyc.net/index.html

[wolfgal]

hello Jim,

i've yet to buy my boat for a number of reasons:
-it takes a while to line up one's ducks, untangle from lubberlife and its "shoulds"
-calculating how much a boat does/will cost and how much one has for retirement is a huge
-figuring out what type of boat to get and where to keep it/sail it takes much research (and is a learning process, so evolves as you research)
-the babysteps so to learn to sail/handle a boat/care for a boat are not always that easily accessed and can feel quite tiny
-so much of one's success can be propelled by being in/a part of a local community of sailors. if you cannot find this community (as in, real people who sail), you can feel quite islolated (especially when family and friends cannot fathom why you would even want this life)
-and yes, paralysis-by-analysis can become a thing...

if you feel overwhelmed by it all, take heart. so many of us do.

from what i understand, your ex-girlfriend is willing to help you learn some boat handing skills and sailing skills. as a former live-aboard herself, she will surely be able to give you some very good tips. this is your window of opportunity: jump! do not let this opportunity pass you by.

from what i've read, your first "use" of the boat is for living aboard. if this is the case, try to avoid imagining your will be doing it all (becoming a circumnavigator) in your first go. the vlog of Old Seadog (fantastic, yes) is inspiring, but not everyone really likes it out there. and it does take money: he says so himself in a recent interview (he has a shod boat but he is spending the money he would have invested in buying a house instead).

my suggestion is that, if you plan to live on the boat, you need to research/focus on finding a place to put the boat (a slip - sometimes rare as hen's teeth) and a boat that fits the slip and also fits you. what kind of boat(s) you put on your short-list may change for a while as you learn; then, when you look for those boats, you need to focus on the condition of the boat. over the span of ten years, a more expensive, well-cared for boat may cost much, much less than a sistership that is going for cheap.

boat size for living aboard:
i plan to live aboard too and have viewed so many boats over the years: 26' was simply too small and claustrophobic for me (and i'm thin!). but between 28' and 35' has felt great, depending on the boat itself. (true, the nonsuch has lots of interior space as does the Hunter that Boatman suggested)
however, 36' and above tends to be more expensive in terms of upkeep and systems maintenance and repair, especially at the dock. boat size depends on your budget

lastly, you mentioned europe. i strongly suggest that you stay over there and not come to europe to begin your boat life. after thirty years, i still find that europe is complicated (rules and regs until you want to jump off of a cliff). when it comes to boats, you do have more freedom over there as well: you do not need special licences, permits, boat passports, fiscal stamps... basically, you can register in a state, pay the tax and be done with it. plus, you've got gorgeous, well-made boats over there!!!! lots of choice! over here, we have the rasmus 35, yes, and a few others, but comparatively, there are just not enough for me to create a descent short list. and the rules-n-regs here make it financially prohibitive to import a lovely old gal made for the US market.

so re-cap:
-learn all you can from your ex-girlfriend
-find a community of sailors and help out and see
-know that taking baby steps is frustrating but necessary
-be careful not to over-analyse: it is tough to know when to take the leap, especially without support from family/friends, especially when it is your first time buying a boat. i often remind myself of what Mandela said: May your choices reflect your dreams, not your fears.

good luck to you and welcome to CF!

wolfie